Saturday, December 20, 2008

While I was out video recording the beautiful snowfall last night (at 2 in the morning--yeah, I know), I pointed out something that bugs the hell outta me. Here it is:

(In the video, you hear me state, "...then waking up next morning only to have your car get stuck in the driveway because it (the snow) is all back there again!..." That actually happened, people. Now, about a week or so ago, the temperature rose above 40 degrees, so a good amount of the snow melted. It has snowed so much lately, that there is another foot--to say the least!--on top of the snow that melted and froze again when the temperature dropped to nearly below zero!)

Snowplows. And their drivers. They. Drive. Me. Insane!Ya think they could be more considerate! Actually, I bet they get their kicks pushing several feet of snow into people's driveways. More specifically, I think they look for driveways that appear to have been shoveled, not snow-blown. They probably already have those houses memorized from either earlier snowfalls this year or just past knowledge--that's what sucks about living in a small town. Everybody knows ya, so you really don't have any secrets. Now, here's today:

(When I say 'neck', I really mean 'chin'. That's how high that snow pile was. And again, I stop the vid too soon and cut myself off. Duh!)

That last video of the snow pile was of the sidewalk of the house kitty-corner to our own. It was probably about, I don't know, maybe a foot and a half of snow? Ours is a good five feet plus!We shoveled nearly a foot of heavy snow yesterday just to have an added three and a half feet of hard-packed give-me-a-hernia snow that had been pushed/piled back into the bottom of our driveway. Pisses me off to no end. And while my brother and I are heavin' and hoin', there are people everywhere, flaunting their shiny--probably friggen brand new--snow blowers, smiling inwardly as they push it along their 10-foot long sidewalk and very small, flat driveway. Grr...Sooooooo frustrating...

So far this winter, in the past three weeks, we've gotten nearly thirty inches of snow. Thirty! Last night it was snowing, again. Before I went to bed, I decided to see if the snow had stopped. Knowing I was only going to be out for a few seconds, I went outside barefoot. I nearly gasped--and not because of the snow. It was so serene, so absolutely beautiful; the snow was falling with a slight angle, coming down rather fast but yet it was absolutely still. There may have been a slight wind, maybe one or two mph, but I didn't feel it. I also didn't feel how cold my feet were getting into I stepped inside and yeeeeeeeeow!What did I do? I dashed inside, put socks and my boots on, threw on some extra shirts and a sweatshirt, grabbed my camera, and headed outside. I took a picture, then looking at it, realized pictures wouldn't do the scene justice. (I was thinking of putting a few on here, but they are butt ugly and completely ruin the scene.) I tried a few more times, determined, before thinking, "Duh, I'll just record it!" This is the outcome. (You'll hear me talking in some of it.)

I don't know why there's a dotted blueish purple line going through the middle of my camera screen from the lamp, and I didn't want to mention it in case it didn't actually record it, but it did. Bummer. Yeah, I know the streetlamp itself is pretty ordinary and somewhat ugly, but what I was really talking about was the orange glow of the light itself. The actual recording captured the scene better than the photos did, but still not good enough for me. I really need a damn good camera/camcorder that can get really great footage of things in the dark, as well as capture the true colors of the environment--something this camera will do at times, but usually won't or can't.

In the second vid, I tried to capture the angle of the snow and the serenity of the moment. I probably should've shut up more, but in the third one I barely talk. Here I tried to show the amount of snow falling even in the darkness, but again, didn't work out quite the way I wanted it to. And yes, I really did this at 2 in the morning! Actually, it was the perfect time because there weren't any cars zooming around or kids yelling--it was complete silence (except for my voice, my footsteps, and the hum of the streetlamp.) But, standing out there a while, I began to feel the cold, especially in my fingers.

In the third--and last--vid, I just tried to get the snow without any sound, but you could still hear my breathing, the snow crunching under my feet, and the fingers moving around trying to get a better grip. "Looks like static, doesn't it? It's snow!"In a way, the snow coming down kind of made me feel like I was flying through space at warp-speed. You know, in Star Trek when they're trying to get away from someone or something they hit that button and all of a sudden the stars' small dot of light becomes a streak and you shoot forward at hyper-speed? Or maybe swimming through a stream with a lot of bubbles being pushed by a current. Hmm...

A little footnote, here: Remember how I said we've gotten over 30 inches of snow so far? Well, add what we got last night, another 4 inches, AND what we're getting right now. Yeah, right now. I just looked out the window to see it snowing like fricken' crazy and another 2-3 inches of accumulation on my car. Damn it.

Yes, this entry is actually about runaway horses.This experience is actually fairly old (in days, that is); it happened at the beginning of December during our first snow. I was running a little late for classes and, lo and behold, a few miles out of town there were at least 7 cars backed up. I saw flashing lights ahead and though, "Uh oh, who went into the ditch this time?" With a glance, and to my surprise, I saw several people running on the highway--one who slipped on the ice and tumbled into the ditch. When I did my double take, I saw this. (I knew nobody would believe me, so I took pictures.)

It was then I got to thinkin', "How the hell did the horses get out?" And it's not like one horse said, "Hey! I'ma gonna jump over this slightly broken fence and make a run for it." No, I counted at least four horses on the run. Four! I think some idiot left the gate open.I would've been mad if it hadn't been so comical. Seriously, there were so many guys chasing these horses who, probably moments before had been pulling a Braveheart, thinking Freeeeeeeeeeeeedom!--with an Scottish accent, of course--before being sighted and herded back to their pens.

See the little pinprick of a guy to the far right in the picture? Yeah, that's the copper. Mr. Cop over there got a little sidetracked and, instead of directing traffic, stuck around to watch the little horsies get herded back to where they belong.Not somethin' ya see everyday, so I don't blame him.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Okay, this is really starting to piss me off.My blog title, and any references to my blog title, are being changed due to some annoying error.Instead of looking like this: "Space & Time Aligned" it now looks like this: "Space & amp; Time Aligned". I'm pretty close to pulling my hair out in frustration. So for now, I'm changing my title to be "Space and Time Aligned". I would really like to change it back the way it used to be.Can somebody help me with this? Any help at all would be appreciated!!!

I feel free like the wind that is spawned from a supercell. I feel ecstatic like desert flowers that bloom after a torrential downpour. I feel weightless like a cloud soaring through the sky.I feel strong like a living glacier, carving its way through a mountain valley. And I feel... I feel like the sun, blazing with light, holding the Universe in place with my gravitational pull.I feel free...

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

1. Whenever your favorite move-your-body song comes on, dance and sing along, no matter where you are! (Like in a blizzard, with your window rolled down and the radio blaring!)2. Laugh and giggle when something amuses you, no matter how silent others demand you to be.3. Continue to be your weird self even when others are looking at you warily.4.Create your own path instead of always following others.5.Always be open to new ideas, even when they're not open to you!6. When someone asks your age, don't be afraid to tell them. Hey, you've gone through a lot of shit to get to the age of 53--be proud of it!7. When someone bumps into you and snarls "Excuse you!", smile serenely and reply, "Hey, nice to see you again! Maybe we can get together for lunch sometime!" Wave and walk away, leaving the person's open mouth and perplexed expression behind you.8. One day, instead of going to work or school, play hooky and take that small road trip that you've been wanting to take for such a long time. Memories of adventurous excursions will last forever.9. When someone tells you you're wrong, realize that the only thing that' s "wrong" at that moment is someone telling you you're wrong!10. Just once, dance in a thunderous downpour and feel the rain wash the past away. Start your life all over!

"Sense of Place"What does this really mean? To have a sense of place.By definition, your "sense of place" is the place where you connect with nature, with a certain landscape. For most, it's where they grew up, or frequently went to on vacation. It could also be where their family lives. For example, you live in Wisconsin but the rest of your family lives in Oregon. So for you, your sense of place is Oregon, not Wisconsin.For me, it's an entirely different matter.Though I've lived in Wisconsin for the past 17 years, I feel no connection to this state, or its landscape. Sure, Door County is beautiful--a very picturesque place. The Apostle Islands are stunning, somewhere I would love to go again--but I don't feel a connection to them at all.There are many places I would love to visit again, such as Spain, Morocco, the Eastern U.S.--but again, I don't feel an attachment to any of those beautiful places.My connection, my sense of place, is the state where I was born: Colorado. I've only visited it a few times since my birth, once with my mother, including my brother & family friends, and the others with my father & brother. The Rocky Mountains, the landscape, just takes my breath away. I feel a sense of belonging there that I have never felt anywhere else.And... in a way... in a way I feel like I'm losing myself, little by little, every day I'm stuck here in this rancid state, instead of the place I belong. Yet, one day in the near future, I won't be stuck in this smelly state anymore--I will be where I belong.I will be in Colorado, living within the borders of the most beautiful mountain range in the world.I will be whole.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

You know what I just realized? This blog is getting depressing. Why do I only write on here when I'm down--at least lately? Well, that's gonna stop today! No more depressing entries all the time.I'm gonna talk about something happy..........What? I'm thinking, here!Hold on, it's coming...Mm, no...Hmph... Any ideas?*grins widely*Okay, I'll stop screwing with your head!But, seriously, it's time for some happy talk--well, maybe not happy, but not dismal either. So, from now on, if you see a relentless amount of entries being desolate, I give you the right to kick me in the blog! *wink, wink*

Monday, December 8, 2008

Last night I probably had not only one of the weirdest, but probably the most disturbing dreams I've ever endured. Like many other dreams, only the end of them are vivid--most of the beginning lost in my subconscious. I have to say this: In most of my dreams, I'm watching myself from a different position. The only logical explanation I can come up with is that I'm having Outer-Body experiences. I never knew it was possible to have those in a dream-state! I don't know, maybe there's a different reason for it, but for the moment, I lack the knowledge. If I could, I would draw a picture to help you follow along, but words will have to do.My dream begins with a boy about the age of 12 (me!) stumbling along an autumn riverbank--which looks more like a small gorge containing a trickling stream--tall brown and yellow grasses crackling under my feet. The width of the stream is about 2 feet wide, the vertical riverbanks about a foot high. (In my dream, I'm following from about 5 feet away, looking up at myself. From the angle, that meant that I was wading--but what felt more like floating--through the water.)To get back on track, I'm stumbling along the edge of the stream, frequently glancing over my shoulder, as if I'm being chased by someone or something. I get far enough away--probably about a mile or so--where I finally feel safe enough to stop. By now, the once small stream/river (whatever you want to call it) has widened from 2 feet to about 16 feet. The water was still an eerie black, as it had been since the beginning, and could've been 40 feet deep for all I knew--it was too dark to tell any kind of depth. I sat down to rest before heading back and looped my arms around my legs, peering across the glassy surface of the slow moving water. Every once in a while, a small ripple would shatter the stillness and not in an "Oh, it's just the wind that's causing it," way but more in the way of, "Something is in the lake, displacing the water within its depths." (Hint, hint)The next scene in my dream, I'm going along the same riverbank, the exact same path as before. Only this time, though, I'm with quite a few more boys, all dressed in some kind of uniform, like Boy Scout clothing. And this time, it's no longer autumn but winter, and we trek through several inches of snow to get to the same destination I had been before. The snow was beautiful and the air very cold. Again, we stopped at the same area--nearly the same spot--and looked around. I'm not sure why we we're even there. I do remember, though--very vividly--what happened next. One of the other boys dared me to step out onto the ice that extended about 4 feet or so from the bank. When I said no, one of them gave me a slight shoulder-shove causing me to slip and fall onto the ice. With the momentum, I slid to the farthest extension of the ice, which was, of course, too thin to support my weight; the ice beneath me shattered and I slipped into the freezing liquid. I completely submerged before coming up, gasping for air. I felt something gently bump the right side of my back, a few inches below my shoulder. Shocked, I scrambled back up onto the ice. I glanced over my shoulder and what I saw made me shove myself violently away from the ice's edge so that my back and arms touched the snow-covered bank. I supported my body with hands that slipped on the slick ice, my legs twisted underneath me.For an indeterminable amount of time, there was absolute silence as everyone stared, stunned, at the sight before us.There, in the murky water, floated a man's body. What had bumped me, was the man's shoulder. When I had looked to see what had touched me, the body was still a few inches below the surface, but was rising rapidly. By the time my back hit the bank, the man was bobbing in the water; parts of the back side of his body were above the water's surface. The fact that I can even tell you what color shirt he was wearing is extremely disturbing to me. (It was a reddish brown, or the color of rust.)What's even more disturbing to me, is the fact that when I woke up, I didn't think much of the dream. I just thought, "Hmm... weird..." before getting up and getting ready for school. I don't know if it was because I was just waking from my slumber and I wasn't entirely conscious yet (though I felt more awake than I usually do in the mornings) or what, but it wasn't until tonight when I relayed my dream to my brother and mom, that the dream unnerved me. More like completely freaked me out. I could feel shivers going down my spine, and my stomach twisting uncomfortably every time I thought of it.I'm not sure what this dream means, and I'm not sure I want to know. Would you?

About Me

I write poems, short stories, articles, novels--you name it, I write it. I also make jewelry in my free time. I'm a closet photographer; I take snapshots of just about everywhere I go. I'm an avid Geologist, Meteorologist, and most of all, Climatologist. Yes, people, Global Warming IS real! And I really love to sing and dance--neither in the shower.
I'm a real outdoors person. I love to camp, canoe, hike, (all 3 include portaging!) rock climb, and sail.
I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs and I refuse to be intimidated into doing any of those things. I'm outspoken and unafraid to let others know how I feel about a certain situation. I say what's on my mind and state the obvious, if the occasion calls for it.
Like everyone else, there's times I need to lay back and relax. To do that I listen to calming music and meditate.
All in all, I'd describe myself as observant, outgoing, down-to-earth, adventurous, independent, courageous, friendly with a wicked sense of humor, and I'm always ready to lend a helping hand or cheer someone up. If you need to talk, I'm there to listen.